Johnny Manziel on Baker Mayfield: He can 'learn from what I did wrong'

SportsPulse: NFL insider Jarrett Bell looks at the possibility of Johnny Manziel ever returning to the NFL and why Canada may be his best - and only - option to get back into football.
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Johnny Manziel revealed on Monday that he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.(Photo: Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)

Former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel has heard the comparisons to Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield, and he thinks they're bogus. But Manziel, the 2012 Heisman winner, thinks Mayfield can "learn from what I did wrong" and said the two share a "really cool friendship."

"We're completely different people," Manziel said on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast on Monday. "We're both from Texas. We both played Texas high school football. But he's not me, and I'm not him. The way my wires are in my head, and the way that I'm built and my makeup is completely different than Baker.

"I think he's going to be a really good player. ...He can try and take something that I did and make it a positive for him."

Manziel, who became the first freshman to win the Heisman while at Texas A&M, acknowledged in a Good Morning America interview Monday that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, saying, "I can't help that my wires are a little bit differently crossed." He said he was determined to get back to the NFL — where he was cut by the Cleveland Browns in 2016 — and restore his image after several run-ins with the law and ongoing alcohol abuse.

Mayfield, the former Oklahoma QB who is expected to be one of the first four quarterbacks selected in April's NFL draft, has downplayed comparisons to Manziel and the idea that he's a "bad boy."

At last month's Senior Bowl, Mayfield said that his in-game taunting and off-field behavior (he reached a plea deal after an arrest for public intoxication last February) don't capture who he is.

"Baker is fiery as hell," Manziel added in the Barstool podcast. "He gets a little amped up on the sidelines. Once you're on the football field and you do some things that are a little outlandish, guys do that all the time. Was it maybe a little bit too much? Sure."